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Every month we plan to bring you helpful articles written for and by members of the Nth Community. We hope you find them interesting. If you want to write an article, and it can be on anything music or God related (within reason), please contact the team (contact page).
What is Success?
by Tom Maynard
What is success, biblically speaking?
It should be an important question on the lips of a
Christian. As I have been walking down the path of Christian
'frontline' (whatever that means!) music ministry for the past 10
years I feel the Holy Spirit often reminding me of what success actually is.
The dictionary definition according to a quick internet search is this: 1. the achievement of something attempted
2. the attainment of wealth,
fame, or position 3. a person or
thing that is successful [Latin successus
an outcome]
I want to go with the Point 1 (the achievement of
something attempted) and attach it to this verse that the Lord Jesus spoke
"If it can be done then take this cup from me, yet not my will but Yours
be done."
Often we see success through Point 2, (the attainment
of worldly wealth, fame or position.) which is a worldly way of seeing success.
As a musician, that may well be trying to 'make
it' – I want to speak a word into your heart – SUCCESS IS
OBEDIENCE TO THE WILL OF FATHER GOD.
I'm fed up with this seemingly worldly approach
to Christianity that tends to link success to the achievement of some worldly
thing such as building a million pound building, or the attainment of a large
amount of money to send to a missionary, or for the musician a massive selling
album/song or securing headlines slots Globally. Whilst all these things are
not bad in essence, they are not the true definition of our
'success'.
Don't get me wrong, this is a war path that we
all face – but sometimes one has to speak out and warn a brother/sister
– I see all around me a selfish world grabbing and holding on to power,
money and fame. I unfortunately also see around me many Christians who are
trying to attain these exact same things – THIS IS NOT SUCCESS. SUCCESS
IS OBEDEIENCE TO GOD.
God is roaming the whole earth looking for a faithful
people. I believe this means a people who are willing to lay down their lives
so that His life may shine, a people who will take up the cross daily and
follow, a people so thirsty after His presence that anything else is
meaningless. We have to take our eyes off of our desires and place them on the
desires that the bible speaks of.
When Jesus Christ went to the cross, he carried a
burden so great that he even spoke the word "take this cup from me"
In other words "I don't want to do this", but here is the key
to the success that we Christians need to follow "Yet not my will but
Yours be done."
There is absolutely no limit to the power that is
unleashed through the man who is willing to surrender his whole life, his
desires, his plans, and say "Have Your way Lord"
This is a hard prayer to pray – I have been
scared praying this prayer because I am coming to realise what it actually
means – but join me in praying "All to Jesus, I surrender, All to
Thee I freely Give"
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